Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Cornish Pasty

Cornish pasties go back hundreds of years; Cornish miners packed these savory pies filled with beef, potatoes, onions, and turnips with them to work as a portable, hand-held meal. Sometimes they were filled with a bit of apple or jam at one end so you could eat through lunch and hit dessert! I wasn't that clever, though. I filled these pasties with diced potato, turnip, and Morningstar Farms Steak Strips. Fresh blueberries and two mint Newman-O's were dessert.Verdict: This was our first taste of these vegan steak strips, and it's been so many years since I ate steak that I found the first bite unsettling -- very steaklike! But the pasties were really good. I thought I was all done creating recipes for my cookbook, but I might need to add this one... Shmoo ate every last bite. 5 stars.P.S. Tomorrow afternoon Shmoo has a dentist appointment. He won't have a lunch box, but he'll have shiny clean teeth!

that bright green container really stands out! i don't think i've seen that one before.

on schmoo hating sweet potatoes : you should make these and see if he likes them - http://vegweb.com/recipes/bread/2627.shtml (i followed one of the comments and only used 2 T of [olive] oil, omitted the baking soda, and only used 1 t of baking powder) -- he might like these!

I don't eat fake meats, and they are very very unappealing to me, but what you have going on here sounds like it could be ok, with the mix and all. Maybe you could add this to the book and I would just leave out the steak... maybe put some tofu (and veggies) in there.

And about tomorrow... do you cook at home or go out when there's no lunch box?

Ever since I came across your site, I've visited it daily. You are truly an inspiration and I, for one of many, cannot WAIT for your cookbook. kudos to you! everything always looks scrumptious AND nutritious!

I'm with some of the above posters in that I thought the strips were gross. I tried both the chicken and steak. The whole thing that interested me was that I thought they were something I could do just about anything with, but it turned out that they were both already too strongly flavoured for me to get very creative. For god's sake, just give me some plain unflavoured fake meat so I can make the recipes I grew up with. I'm better off using Gardenburger's grilled chicken patties for my chicken salad.

This is soo pretty! I just got around to trying the lentil and brown rice balls and can I just say that it was sooo yummmmmmy that it almost didn't make it into ball form! I think when I make it again, I'll have to stuff it into peppers...oh yea...that'll be good

Cool--I'm not the only one making vegan pasties! I grew up eating pasties made with beef, potatoes, and carrots, so I tried making my own about a month ago. I wanted to use seitan but ended up just going with marinated tofu. Next time I'll see what they're like with turnips instead of the carrots.

I know, that's how I felt about the chicken and the steak strips -- maybe a bit *too* real! But the meat-eaters among us really liked them, so I guess that's a good thing. Anything that keeps an actual chicken or cow off their plates can't be bad...

Hi, Jessica! Thanks for the link -- I know shmoo would like those. He now likes sweet potato muffins, biscuits, bread, and pie.

>Are the steak strips gluten or soy?

Mostly gluten but containing soy.

Hi, Leslie! Usually we go out for bean burritos or toasted bagels with peanut butter and soy steamers.

From the thread below question, that got me looking on the web for cat cookie cutters and I found some that looked suitable for sammiches at http://www.foosecookiecutters.com/store/catsanddogs.html including one that looks like shmoo's. They've got others, like a bunnie and a frog that look like they'd work well also.

aghh, few postings after the cookbook is finished? Surely there has to be a sequel...

Funny thing...I tried the steak strips tonight for the first time and here it is on your blog. :) Our whole family thought they were really terrific. Having a vegan food that tastes familiar is so helpful to me as I try to convince my kids and husband that they can eat healthy foods and not suffer because they have to give up most of they're used to. I love these and hope there continue to be more and more choices that taste and look "normal" (to an omni) so that eventually it isn't even an issue - I can just cook what I cook and we don't have to have the same old discussion of "What does it taste like? Is it good? Is it steak or "steak"? " We decided the steak strips were better when cut into smaller pieces, as they were hard to bite through in the strip shape. Maybe that would lessen their similarity to real meat for those who were turned off by it? I'm glad Little Schmoo enjoyed his beautiful pasty. :)

Food Fight is one of my favorite things about Portland. Have you ever been to Veganopolis? It's a new(ish) vegan cafeteria on SW 4th. They have awesome sandwiches and a pretty good buffet. Next time you're in Portland you should definitely check it out.

Got to your site from mathplusone.com. I am not vegetarian at all (I feel like I need to apologize for that even though I know it's a choice, so sorry), but some of these recipes look so great that I think I might start experimenting with my work lunches. This pasty in particular made my mouth water!

Wow Jennifer! Now you have to respond to soooo many posts! Thanks for letting me know, I remembered how you go to Taco del Mar (as we do weekly here) and get "The Vegan" as well. Soy Steamers sounds pretty good right now.

i'm so happy you used the morningstar steak strips. i have a bag of them, and have been kind of stuck for ideas of what to do with them. pasties are perfect! i grew up near a little family bakery that made these awesome pasties, and they're definitely a comfort food for me. mmm.

the chicken strips are so good, too!! my boyfriend and i have been enjoying them stir-fried with onions and bell peppers on fresh crusty italian bread. i like nayonnaise with mine, he likes marinara sauce.

Thanks for the tip.I haven't seen those steak strips before --how was the texture? I'm thinking mexican style with onions and peppers and tortillas might be good.Love the cornish pasties idea- that's one of the first recipes I learned as a child in England.

I love the pastie idea. Can't wait for your cookbook! To the poster who mentioned that the steak strips had a mushy texture, if you decide to try them again, don't cook them too long. Just heat them up for a minute or so. Cooking them longer than that can lead to them being sort of spongey-ish.

Jennifer, I'm so happy to have found your blog. We are not vegans but are on a quest to eat healthier which of course includes more veggies! Your lunch boxes bring such inspiration, my little ones are somewhat phobic about certain vegetables and I have found so many wonderful ideas here to help change their minds about vegetables. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

I found your site through the Laptop Lunch Times e-mail-- great pictures and great ways to organize simple, easy-to-prepare meals. I am not vegan, but I support the terrific creativity you have put out there. Nice site, and great job.

When are the folks at Morningstar and other companies like that going to come out with meatless pot pies? You would think that that would be the case given the commonality of Swansons and Marie Callenders chicken turkey and beef pot pies, but maybe the future might hold something positive for meatless pies.Perhaps you might talk to some of the companies you link to about the prospect of marketing meatless pies...BTW, you have also demonstrated why the meat pie is so readily accepted in the US and even more commonplace in British Commonwealth countries and in the UK as well.